Automatic valve.



E. V. ANDERSON.

AUTOMATIC VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED Nov.. 6. I9I4.

Patented J uly 4, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

.1| [Ill 'o rese rro ir FIEJ- INVENTOR E. V. ANDERSON.

AUTOMATIC VALVE.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 6.

Patented July 4, 1916.

s sHEns-sHEET'z.

Il I'slll lrO INVENTOR WITNESSES Ml l l E. V. ANDERSON.

AUTOMATIC VALVE.

APPLICATION F|LD Nov. e. 1914.

Patented July 4, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

FIGS.

mvEN-ron WITNESSES 7 wfg@ l amct'iz'enof the United States, residing atl STATES Haarsma-.1

,4, mwAnnir.'

ANDEBSON,.0F MONESSEN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNR 0F QNE-HALF T0 CHARLES E. GOLDEN, 0F GRAFTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

l AUTOMATIC' vALvn.

To lwhom t may concern Y13e it known that I, EDWARD V. ANDERSON,

Monessen, in the State of Pennsylvania,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Valves, of which lthe following is a specification.

My invention Arelates generally to the valves used for maintainin a uniform stage.

of water in tanks and the li e, and more particularly to pilot valves and other devices for automatically governing a main valve according to conditions of pressure.

Still more particularly I have im roved the construction and operation o ypilot valves, and other devices for taking care of emergencies.

. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of an alternative arrangement of levers for operatmg such a' In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a central vertical section of a main valve, a pilot valve and two pressure control devices for the pilot valve; Fig. 2 is a side elevation at right angles to the view `of Fig.

1, and a section of the casing,l with another.

form of main valve therein; Fig. 2a is a section of the valve.A stem in Fig. 2. Fig. 3 is a partial section on apart of the main valve and the pilot in Fig. 1 but suppliedwith an alternative form of automatic pressure operatingidevice, and an added device for interrupting the automatic action; Fig. 4 is an enlarged section of the pilot valve ltself.

pilot valve..

In addition to the usual functions of a controllingaltitude valve, it is often highly advanta ous to provide for automatically closing t evalve incase of a decided change of pressure in the water line, as in case of fire. Again there are often occasionswhen itis deslred to interrupt the automatic ac-A tion of automatic controlling valves.

In Fi 1, I represent at 5 a valve casing provide with the usual perforated partition 6, carrying a valve seat 7, located at the -bottom of a cylindrical liner 8, which latter is preferab y r liner 9 m lar the hood 10 of the valve casmg. The valve 11 is in cylindrical form,l

and is provided at the to with a piston '12 which, `o erating inthe arger cylinder 9,

' forms a ashpot for both opening and closing, and also operated tov close the mam va ve 11, by manipulation of the pressure behind it.` For this latter' purpose, I pro by a lunger 24.

made integral with anotherv Patented July 4, 19,11

lvide in the `valve casing Ya passage (13) from i I the high pressure side, ywhich intermittently communicates with the chamber (B) above the Avalve piston 12- by means of port (.14) and the pilot valve. The pilot valve is arranged to also exhaust 'the chamberx(B) at the outlet 15, as will` be made more -clear A from Fig. 4. Thus, on the main valve cas-4 ing I provide Ithe pilot valve casing 16, carrying a cylindrical stem 17,l carrying' at the ybottom a valve 18 opening `downward against the lpressure of spring 19, which is. supported 1n the perforated hood 20 in the passage. (13) from the high pressure side of the mainvalve. Immediately above valve 18 the stem 17 has lateral .perforations,(21)

anda central passage (22), lconnectediby`r ports (23) to the open outlet 15. '.Botlr'4 the ports v23) and the passage- (22) are closed Re erring nowto Figs.` 1 and 2 t hev plunger 24 is normally hel downward, to ,.cIo orts 22 and y23 by stem 25 carried -ong'the ower endofnrod 26 attached to a movable diaphragm 27 in the casing 28. This I'diaphragm is normally balanced between storage tank water pressure on the'upperv side of the diaphragm, entering-from. pi e 29, and

against the undersi the diapliragri"2,7i

'and on a carrier 31 riding freely'over the.

rod 26, and held by screws y31". -It is adjustable in vertical position by nuts- 31,o`n

supporting screws. The pilotj valve 18,'

when open, allows the entry, by'passage 14,

.of the high pressure Huid from passage (13) into chamber (B). Since the area of piston 12 is greater than that of valve 11, `this upward, it is evident that valve 18 will remain open only so long vas there is a downward pressure on the nlunger 24, takin eff feet on the hollow sli A stem 17 of w ich valve A18 is an, Aintegralpart. VThat is, the

main valve will remainy closed 4as long as.

the ressurerin the` receiving tank, with whic pressure pipe l291communicates,"A is l vabovej'a certain predetermined minimum arranged by adjustin the pressure of-spring 3 0 by nuts. 31.. v dimmishes2 diaphragm 27 4rod 26, and plug 25, will rise, allowin `sprin 19 to close pilot' valve 18. This using o valve 18 land its hollow stem 17 will place the ports (21),

en thls pressure further (22) and (23) in communication with the outer atrnos here and with ports 14, 14, from cham er l (B),-the pressure from chamber (B) meantime raising the plunger 24, which is free torise because the pressure of plug .25 has been released. This release of pressure in chamber (B) of course immediately permits opening the main valve and adding to the supply in the receiving tank, which it will be understood is connected to the outlet side of main valve casing 5. For the fire pressure emergency,'I provide a lever 32, pivoted at one end to a stud 33 fixed on the valve casing and resting on the top of plug valve 24 but not interfering with the motion of the plug 25. This lever at the other end is connected by a link 34 with a stem 35 of spring `balanced pressure diaphragm 36, in casing 36a connected by pipe -37 with the main line on the inlet side of valve casing` 5, (or to any other desired source of pressure which is o erated by the auxiliary closing device.) bviously, and quite independently of the action of diaphragm 27, if pressure suddenly rises in pipe 37, and on top of balanced diaphragm 36, the lever 32 will be depressed and in turn will force down the outlet plunger 24 and o en the valve 18 of the pilot. This first c oses the escape from chamber (B), and then puts it in communication with the high pressure side through passage 13, immediately closing the main valve. By this means, while in normal operation the device automatically maintains a givenl pressure in the receiving tank, yet without interfering with this normal automatic pressure controlling operation, the supplementary device 36, 32, closes the main valve automatically in case of lire pressure or other emerency. f

In Fi 3 I have shown the same pilot valve an controlling device, but modified in arrangementso as to open the main valve when a certain maximum pressure is exeeeded on the supply side. That is, when the diaphragm 38 is depressed, its stem 39 will move the lever 40, raising the free end 41 oil' the plug valve 24 of the pilot, thus allowing escape from chamber (B) and closing valve 18 from passage 13, so as to allow the main valve to open and permit a backward flow therethrough.

For either arrangement, I provide a device by which the automatic action may be interrupted. That is, as in Fig. 3, the lever 40 takes eiiect on thel plug 24 throu h the screw 42, which has an attached'han le 43;

and the parts are so adjusted that by turning the screw 42 in one direction the motion of lever 40 is not suiiicient to release plug 24, while by turning the screw 42 in the other direction, the motion of lever 40 is not f sufficient to depress plug 24. In the form of Fig. 1 the handle 43* will of course turn the plug 25 on rod 26. By mere turn of the handle 43 or 43 therefore, the automatic action of the pilot is .interrupted and the main valve is left permanently in either open or closed position as desired.

In-solne deslgns I prefer to replace the levers 32 of Fig. 1 and 40 of Fig. 3, by a pair of levers 44 and 45 as shown in Fig. 5. This permits the auxiliary diaphragm device 36 to move plug 24 of the pilot valve in the same direction and the same amount, as will be obvious.

In Fig. 2 I have shown the structure of the main valve corresponding to 11 in Fig. 1, which is arranged to automatically close thevalve in the case of a break in the supply line or on the high pressure side, in order to `prevent'backiow from a tank or standpipe or other reservoir being fed. That is, the valve proper is made 1n the form of a loose disk 11d attached to the cylinder part 11 by means of a stem 1lc extending up into thev hollow stem 11b made integral with the bottom 11a of the cylinder. The bottom 11aL and the disk 11d are separated from each other by a series of studs 11. By this construction the valve part 1ld ma drop independently of the cylinder 11 an piston 12, whenever it happens that the pressure on the lower or inlet side is less than that on the upper or outlet side, since the pressure on the outlet side has free access'to thetop of the valve disk. Then it is desired, however, the disk 11d may be firmly attached to the valve body 11 by insertion of a screw 47 connecting hollow stem l1b with a solid stem 11C, as shown in Fig. 2a. That is, the screw 47 replaces the plug 46 in Fig. 2 and prevents relative movement of the two parts of the main valve. ates in the same way as the structure of Fig. 1.

It will construction lof` the pilot valve shown in Fig. 4, by which a sin le movement of the parts in one direction, rst closes the escape passage and then 'opens the' inlet passa e, makes this device eeuliarly effective or both altitude control) and for the auxiliary emergency features. The action is positive and certain; the outlet port (23) cannot be opened until the valve .-18 is entirely seated, and on the other hand, the valve 18 cannot be Iunseated as long as there is any escape through port 23). Moreover, the action of the valve can e readily and delicately adjusted by means of the nuts 31u on the screws 31". The use of a valve which is entirely operated b imposing or releasing pressure on top o plug 24 enables the pilot to be indepen ently operated by several actuating devices, such as the diaphragm devices 28 and 36 or the hand control 43 or 43'* of Fig. 3. `By the Vcombination of de- When so connected the valve operbeobserved that the` particular vices in Figs. 1 and 2, the main valve may be automatically operated to maintain a. particular pressure in normalk action, and yet be either automatically or manually prevented from the normal operation, While the main valve serves as'a check in case of a break on the high pressure side. Other advantages will readily occur to those familiar with the art.

The structure shown also readily lends itself to a simple provision for allowing the stored water to run back for distribution through the main, if desired, whenever the pressure on the inlet side becomes less than that on the outlet side of the main valve. Thus, in Fig. 5, the diaphragm chamber 28 Vis connected by pipe 48, containing a downward-opening check valve 19, to the inlet side of casing 5. Thus the operation of the pilot valve and control, will continue so long as the pressure at the inlet side of valve casing 5 is greater than the pressure in the tank to which pipe 29 is connected. But if, as incase of fire, the supply line pressure should drop, the check valve 49 will be forced open by the superior pressure in the storage tank and in pipe 29,' and, since the effective opening in pipe 48 is larger than in pipe 29 as regulated by the cut-off valve 29k in this pipe, the water may not only run back'hfrom the storage vessel into the supply pipe, but the effective opening being larger in pipe LS will render it impossible for the pressure to accumulate in the chamber 28 so as to depress the pilot valve 18 and close the main valve in the casing 5 as heretofore described with respect I.to Fig. 1.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim is the following: y V

1. 'lhe combination with a main valve comprising a movable element provided with a piston, of a pilot valve adapted to open the main valveby releasing pressure behind said piston, and a pressure controlled device to automatically operate said pilot valve and independent means to operate said pilot valve controlled by the pressure' from theinlet side of the main valve, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a main valve adapted to be opened by release of pressure behind it, a pilot valve and proper ports adapted to normally maintain pressure behind said main valve or ltorelease said pressure, of a pressure operated controlling device governing said pilot valve, anda separate emergency pressure operated device connected to operate the pilot valve independently of said first pressure control.

3'. The combination with a main valve comprising a cylindrical valve body reciprocating in a cylinder and having an enlarged piston at its upper end, of a casingl to operate the pilot: valve by' changes of' pressure on the inlet side of the main valve.

4. The combination of a main valve adapted to beoperated by fluid pressure from the supply side of the line in which it is placed, apilot valve adapted to control such {iuid pressure, a pressure diaphragm and connect-ions whereby to operate the pilot valve with change of pressure thereon, and a hand-operated adjusting element in the connections between said diaphragm and pilot' valve` adapted to render such control inei'ective at will.

5. The combination with a main valve adapted to be operated by varying the pressure on top of it, of a pilot valve comprising a casing having an opening to the top of the main valve and an opening to the atmosphere, a reciprocating cylinder in said casing having at the one end a valve and at the other end a shifting plug controlling an opening from the said hollow cylinder to the atmosphere.

6. In a pressure controlled automatic valve comprising a piston, a dashpot, an automatic pilot to manipulate the pressure in said dashpot, a main valve carried loosely on said piston and adapted to close independently of the piston when the pressure on the inlet side falls below the pressure on the outlet side. A

In testimony' whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of the two subscribed witnesses.

EDlVARD V. ANDERSON. Witnesses:

FREDK.' STAUB,

A. HECKMAN. 

